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German Sheppard pacing and tail chasing

19 17:37:43

Question
Hello!  I have two German Sheppards (female and a male also brother and sister) who I have had since 04/2007.  I've noticed the male loves to chase his tail and gets to the point where he flips over by his chasing and he is doing this on a daily basis.  They both are approx. 8-9 months old. He is not neutered yet.  The female has been spayed and I've noticed she has a "path" that she paces back and forth non stop and barks towards the ground.  Their attention span is also very short.  I'm trying to get them daily exercise hoping this will break their behavior.  However I haven't seen any results.  Do you have any suggestions?

Answer
The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

Going ahead and getting the male neutered should reduce his nervous energy.  You idea of more exercise is good too.